Bind Us So We Can Be Free
by Jokess
Summary: Chapter four of Bind Us is now up, some things are revealed and more introductions are made. Even more is left unsaid. My OC-only Fruits Basket story.
1. Bound By Tradition

**Jokess- **Hello and welcome to the first, but hopefully not last, chapter of _**Bind Us**_**, **my OC Fruits Basket story. Though I am doing this mostly out of the personal satisfaction of seeing an rp in fanfiction form, any and all reviews and critiques are more than welcome. I have a lot planned and ready, but I don't want to reveal too much now, so I hope you enjoy and understand the story as it progresses.

As always, I don't own Fruits Basket or anything related to it. However, most of the OC's are mine, save for a few my rp friend created. They have had some minor changes made to them, age, a name, some backstory, but these characters are hers, and credit goes to her for the following characters: Kana, Akio, Hikari and Ouri Sohma. Thanks Bori, may you one day see this fanfic of mine(ours?) and be delighted by it and any spoilers we have not yet rached.

Now, without further ado, here is **Bound by Tradition the **first chapter of _**Bind us so we May be Free**_

**Bound by Tradition.**

"Hiroto, no, that yellow snow isn't coated by honey, don't eat it!" exclaimed a man in his early thirties, dressed in little more than a pair of faded red pajamas and snow boots. Just twenty minutes ago, Hiroto had woken him up at three in the morning, demanding they go outside since he had been patient for an hour already and could no longer wait to play. Yuri, the man now running after Hiroto, had ignored the six year old's pleas and had pulled the covers up higher, mumbling something about the snow being there later in the morning. Of course, Hiroto hadn't listened, and had made a huge ruckus before flinging himself outside dressd like it was 32 below instead of just under freezing. With little choice, Yuri had gotten up and hadn't even gotten undressed when Hiroto had popped up in his window, a handful of suspiciously yellow snow in his hands.

"That's exactly what Kana said you would say! And she also said this snow would be good, and she doesn't lie!"

"That doesn't mean she thought you'd eat yellow snow Hiroto! She was teasing you, joking because yellow snow means-"

Before he could explain further, Hiroto used his free hand to throw a fistful of snow at him. From just feet away, the snow hit Yuri in the face, temporarily stunning him as well as making his face go numb. "Hiroto, that isn't funny!"

"You sure look funny though!" the young boy replied, obviously not put off by Yuri's current mood. "And besides, Kana said you would say that to. She knew you would try to be sneaky, like she said, you are the rat!"

"If I were so sneaky would I really be so obvious as to do everything Kana expects?" Yuri asked, now certain that someone was pulling a joke on him. Ha Hiroto been serious about eating the snow, unaware what it was, he would have already.

"It would mean you were being extra sneaky because trying to do something so expected is totally unexpected in this case." With this said, Hiroto took a bit out of the snow, and his face instantly transformed from one of glee to absolute disgust.

Horrified, and thinking he must have miscalculated the current situation, Yuri shouted to Hiroto, then for help and then, only seconds later, ran to the boy. Kneeling down to him, Yuri hadn't said so much as a word when a bucket full of snow was poured down his pajama tops and bottoms. Surprised, Yuri leaped up only to lose his balance and fall face first into the snow, much to the delight of a now hysterical Hiroto.

"I'm glad you found tat funny, because you just about scared the life out of me."

Laughing too hard to reply, Hiroto could only laugh harder as his accomplice, Kana Sohma, found her chance to pour a bucket of snow over Yuri's head, resulting in nearly loosing his balance and eating snow again.

Turning to Kana, Yuri quickly stood up, glaring at her the best he could through his teeth chattering and shivers. "Was the snow on my head really necessary?"

"Yep, of course." Kana replied, beaming as she walked toward Hiroto to share in their mirth at hs expense. And probably to protect themselves from him since, most days, Yuri would have payed the both of them back for his embarassment.

"Right, of course." Yuri muttered with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Well, consider this battle won. As much as I would like to play in the snow, we do have preperations for tommorow, the dance and feast is tommorrow and that means we all should get some sleep."

"Right, it is New Years for us starting tommorow." Kana muttered. "I almost forgot, and it still feels just like yesterday it was Ai and I dancing. Can't believe that was a year ago already."

"Time does fly when you're young." Yuri agreed, with a wink to the eight year old Kana. "I wish it had flown faster this year though. It's going to be interesting seeing Eiji and Ai have to dance. If nothing else, Tadahiko won't be happy."

"That old stick in the mud is never happy, and all his shots hurt me more than him no matter how much he says otherwise."

"Well, then we best be inside already Hiroto, unless he end up needing to give you another shot after all." With a truly disgusted look, Hiroto nodded at Yuri before running inside and getting some water boiling.

From the window, Yuri watched his God for a moment before turning back to Kana. "You should be getting to sleep to young lady. Even if you won't need a shot, Tadahiko will never let me hear the end of it if you catch a cold now."

"It's not like I live far away." Kana grumbled, her stubborn streak flaring up as she glanced back at the house she lived in, just across the street from where he and Hiroto lived. "And its not like anyone would miss me if I was late anyway."

"You still should get some sleep, if not for your own sake, but for Hiroto's. He'll be sad if you oversleep and aen't there to play with him later today."

"Yeah, I guess." she grumbled in an eerily animal tone. Perhaps not surprising, she was the tiger after all, plus she had just been with Hiroto. The boy always seemed to make Kana curse more prevelant. His presenece did that to everyone to some extent, but Kana was affected the most, perhaps because she was the closest in age to Hiroto, as well as the closest in general.

"Good night then." Yuri replied as Kana walked off, her arms crossed as if she hated the idea of having to listen. She probably did, but she also had to understand it was best for everyone is she listened. Hiroto was her god, everyone's god, and having him upset was not an option. As the closest to him, she was expected to put him before herself, no questions asked. It certainly couldn't be easy, but Hiroto had made his decision, even if he didn't realize it.

"She really is very lucky. Even though her parents left like that, it gave her Hiroto. They can't ever be equals, or even friends really, but they can still depend on each other. I wish I could still be lucky, standing on your own feet isn't easy, especially in the snow." With a sad smile, Yuri looked to the sky, the melting snow mixing with the tears that had started to fall. "I'll save my last dance for you Shiro, you deserve to be remembered that much at least."

That said, now colder than ever, Yuri went back inside and helped Hiroto with the finishing touches on some hot cocoa and tea before sending him to bed admist a feeling that something had started to go wrong.

Hiding just beyond where the light touched, a small, shadowy figure watched as Kana headed home. Once the girl was inside, the figure moved, never once stepping into the light as it made its way to Kana's door, to freedom inside this prison.

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

**Jokess-** Not much happening yet, but I like this start anyway. It's going to set a lot up for the chapters to come.

And, now for a quick summary of the characters introduced thus far, in order of introduction  
**Hiroto Sohma, 6, God  
Yuri Sohma, 32, rat  
Kana Sohma, 8, tiger  
Eiji Sohma,?,?  
Ai Sohma,?,?  
Tadahiko Sohma, doctor,?,?  
Shiro Sohma,?,?**


	2. Lost and Bound

**Jokess- **Since I'm not about to get any sleep, or any other type of rest, for the foreseeable future, I figured I might as well update more often than I first planned. Or, I'll try to since my lack of sleep is/will be due to fostering nine dogs, eight puppies and their mama. The puppies are about 4 weeks old now, and not yet weaned so Madre, that's what we're calling her, is eating and drinking for 9. Plus they're still new to the house and the environment and being around and awake instead of around and asleep seems to help. Still, I already do miss my sleep. But it's worth it for the fostering. The puppies are labs, black and golden ones, and are adorable and sweet and squeaky and like to suck on your fingers. I'm going to miss that soon, plus various pieces of skin as the puppies get their teeth. But it's all part of the gig.

On another note entirely, I'm sorry for all those stupid mistakes in the last/first chapter. I thought I had spell checked everything both with word processor, the Firefox spell check AND the one on Fan Fiction. Apparently though, one or all of those changes didn't take and now the chapter looks kind of ridiculous. I'll have to fix it up later today, after I get what little sleep I can and finish installing the new word processor program.

Finally, as always, I do not own Fruits Basket or any related canon material. I am doing this for funsies and pride and memory, that is it. Of course, reviews wouldn't hurt, if only to say 'If you bothered to spellcheck your story thoroughly I might bother to read it.'

Seriously though, I hope you all enjoy the story and continue reading even if I may never know. OR WILL I? DUNDUNDUN

**Lost and Bound**

Being cold-blooded, even only 'sort of cold blooded' was enough to make Eiji Sohma miserable. Unlike the snake, he wouldn't transform if it got too cold, but he was definitely more sensitive to drops in temperature than any of the other cursed Sohmas. Not sensitive enough though, for, despite the just below freezing temperature,he had to work helping for the beginning of New Years.

While, in years past, the important holiday would have already begun, it was close to noon now, Hiroto's sleep had become more important. The boy knew this was an important time of the year, but he did not care. Or, perhaps his curse felt satisfied by being with Yuri and Kana. Certainly, it was possible, Shiro had acted much the same when in Yuri's presence all those years ago.

Barely aware that his thoughts had wandered, Eji didn't hear his name called until it was literally shouted in his ear.

Beginning to lose his balance from the sudden shock, Eiji was certain he was about to freeze even more when a pair of strong arms pulled on his own arm, enabling him to catch his balance. The moment he did, he used his momentum to push his 'savior' off balance and into the snow. "Stay down or the front half of your clothes will get soaked too."

"I'm already soaked enough thank you." Akio Sohma replied, crossing his arms against his chest even as he lay in the snow, knowing very well that Eiji wasn't bluffing. If anything, he'd be lucky if only what remained of his dry clothing got wet.

"Then don't yell in my ear next time, at least not in the snow and cold."

"Eiji, you look like the Michelin Man Mascot if it swam in an ocean of blue paint, you can't possibly be cold."

"It isn't 'possible' to turn into a dragon either, yet I do that to. You know as well as I do it doesn't matter how much I wear in the winter, it's always cold."

"I kinda figured you were always exaggerating, I would to if I were the one who had to"

"Man, you really are stupidly stubborn." Eiji interjected before Akio could finish. "I wonder if that has to do with being the ram, or if it just comes with the territory of being the black sheep of our family."

At Eiji's mention of his curse, and his almost scandalous, past, Akio seemed to sink in on himself, becoming smaller and more miserable.

"Oh, Akio I had no clue. I mean, I always knew that she was...but still, I'm so sorry. If I had known, I would have never...again, I'm sorry. Do you mind telling me when it was she passed on?

"About a month an a half ago, a few hours after we had finished celebrating Christmas in her hospital room. She just took a turn for the worse out of nowhere, she was too weak to even transform, I think the curse tried anyway, but it just killed her, It took my baby sister away, the one girl I could hug and love without fear. And it took her without even having her here!"

Shocked speechless, Eiji let his long time friend grieve in relative peace as he thought over what this meant. Hikari Sohma, Akio's younger sister by close to a decade, as well as the horse of the zodiac, was dead. Her spot would now be 'open' along with a few others that had not been filled, and probably wouldn't be any time soon.

"I miss her too." Eiji replied. "I can't begin to imagine how you feel, much less to understand, but I'll help in any way I can. If nothing else, I know what it's like to always fear losing a loved one. Even that is near impossible sometimes, and for you to actually suffer a loss, no one would condemn you for wanting to for"

"Don't you dare finish that word Eiji!" Akio shouted, despite the grief "If you do, it won't matter how many times you suppress my memory, I would never forgive you."

"You would never forgive yourself you mean." Eiji said deadpan. We're friends Akio, I know you, to forget would be to give up, and you don't do that, ever. Like I said before, you're stupidly stubborn."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Akio asked, almost managing a laugh. "Some friend you are."

"Not make you feel better no, more like urge you, for selfish reasons since there is no doubt Tadahiko knows of her death, or soon will, Hiroto would have told him, too panicked to ask for anyone else."

"That damn cock will be sorry if he so much as even THINKS a wrong word now."

"Which is where that selfish part comes in Akio. I have to dance with Ai tonight, I'd rather not be in traction or unwillingly sedated or high also."

"He'll be even more sorry if he tried."

"Which means I'll suffer also. I DO have a home to get to as well. Just because I have to spend New Years here, doesn't mean I have to spend more time here, if I don't want to."

Muttering several more unkind words about the Sohma doctor, Akio looked ready to ram something or someone for several more minutes before calming down some. By that time, Eiji skin had started to take on a distinctive red color, while his lips looked too pale, and almost blue. Even so, he couldn't go yet. A little nip of frost would be nothing compared to all the havoc Tadahiko could cause without even intending to. He was a nice enough guy, Eiji considered him a good friend despite his and Akio's differences. However, the problem was not Tadahiko so much as the rotten attitude he'd have around Hiroto. God and Sohma Family head or not, the kid didn't like shots or doctors and having a grumpy  
one around was no good for any of them.

After about a minute more, Akio nodded his goodbye toward Eiji and had begun to walk away when he noticed his friend was now staring at something just out of his line of sight. His gaze was intense, but also deadly cold, it was a look Akio was sure he had won just moments ago. "Eiji...?" he began, unsure of what to say. There had only ever been one reason Eiji got so infuriated, one reason, but it couldn't be that now. Any other time, but now, it just couldn't be.

"Leave."

"I don't think that-"

"I said leave!" Eiji demanded, this time with a lot more command and not just a bit of threat.

Though Eiji could not make him do anything, or have any right to speak to him as he just had, Akio left the thirty year old to himself since, now, discretion was the better part of valour. Besides, it might actually be better to have help on hand or on the way, if anyone could hate the cat as much as Eiji, it was God, and Akio didn't think Hiroto hated the cat that much quite yet. The cat knew it too, and knowing him, he had showed himself at the most inopportune and insulting time just to aggravate Eiji most when he was at his weakest. Whatever went on, even if punches weren't thrown, wouldn't be pretty.

**To be Continued**

**Jokess-** Things start to move som more, though more slowly than I had hoped. Ah, well, until the next time the dogs keep me up and I feel like writing.

But, one more thing first The puppies, there are five female, three male. Two of the three golden ones are female, and the other three are black, though two of them have white around their noses, on their chest and paws. The other female is all black. Then there is an all black male, a black male with white around his nose on his paws and chest, a platinum blonde female, a medium dark/golden female and a brownish golden male. They all have names from us, buy they could be renamed when they're adopted. Their names are

Mouse-all black male  
Sunflower-Platinum blonde female  
Chica-All black female  
Winnifred(Winnie)-Black female with more white spots  
Maggie-Black female with less white spots  
Rocky-Black male with few white spots  
Honey-Golden brown female  
Billy-Darker gold/gold male

Also here are the characters who have now have either been introduced for the first time or fully introduced. In order of appearance-

**Eiji Sohma, 30, dragon, memory supressor  
****Shiro Sohma,?,?****  
Akio Sohma, 29, ram  
Hikari Sohma, 21, horse(deceased)  
Tadahiko Sohma,?, rooster(cock), doctor  
?,?,cat**


	3. Out of Bag and Bounds

Jokess- What was I thinking when I said I would have some free time to type while I took care of the puppies?! Just because I was awake did not mean I was in any shape to type. I'm surprised I could still speak coherently some of those days. The puppies are out of the house now, so maybe now I'll have enough energy to type at two thirty in the morning.

As always, I do not own Fruits Basket, and even some of the characters aren't mine. However, the majority of characters and their history are mine, or at least half mine.

Finally, be ready for more punny titles, they've invaded and are not inclined to leave peacefully.

**Out of Bag and Bounds**

Minowa Sohma knew he was not welcome at the estates, especially during the new year, where his presence was doubly excluded from the festivities his 'family' enjoyed. He knew that there was no way anyone would tolerate him, much less listen to him. He'd be out on the streets with only a few new bruises to show for his effort. That was why he had first come into the estates last night, so he wouldn't be seen until he already had his bargaining chip under his sway.

Said bargaining chip was now, following behind him, hands tied tightly together by her own shoelaces, some colorless yarn and what looked like a collar for a small dog or a puppy. Attached to a metal ring on the dog collar was more of the colorless yarn, braided and twisted to form a thin rope that served as a make shift leash, which Minowa held so it was tight. Like this, if Kana tried to approach him, he'd know the instant the rope got loose.

"You know, you're really making this harder than necessary Kana." Minowa muttered for at least the tenth time as the young tiger dragged her feet forcing him to half pull her along. "If you would just cooperate, all this wouldn't be necessary, and life would be easier for us both."

Kana didn't say anything, and instead answered by stopping all together and falling to the ground like dead weight. Pulled off-balance, Minowa stumbled to one knee before jerking the rope tied to Kana, pulling her across a few feet of snowy grass. Only then did he get up and, despite the tiger playing dead, pulled her along without anymore noticeable effort.

"I'll take that as another no." he murmured with a shake of his head.

Continuing on his trek, Minowa barely noticed when Kana got back up to her feet, unable to stand the cold of being dragged through the snow. He, did, however, notice when she started sneezing and sniffling. With an irritated grunt, he stopped and turned to Kana and saw she wasn't faking, as he had thought. The girl did look a little worse for wear. Perhaps no surprise considering last night.

"Here." he grumbled, tossing her his own rather torn, dirty and faded winter coat. "Wear that, you'll be warm."

Kana just glared in return, obviously ignoring the coat now laying in the snow despite her continuing sniffles.

"It isn't going to bite you! And, even if it were to do that, it'd be better than getting sick from the cold. And that's exactly what will happen, and then Hiroto will be get sick, except 10 times worse, so just put the freaking coat on."  
"As if you care if either one of us got sick!" Kana replied, speaking for the first time her kidnapping. "I know you would be happy if we were dead, so don't go pretending you care about anything, especially us, just because you think you can win a favor."

"Whoever said I care about either of you? Just because I said you would get Hiroto sick doesn't mean I care if he does. I was just stating a fact, it has nothing to do with how I feel about anyone. However, you at least have to pretend to care about Hiroto, which means that you don't want him to get sick. That means you'll put on the coat because otherwise you'd be no better than me, destroying things selfishly to exist how you want to."

Seeing the cold glare Kana gave him, Minowa returned it until the girl shivered again this time in defeat. Hands still tied together, the tiger shouldered the jacket awkwardly over her back, huddling in it for warmth.

Once she was ready, Minowa continued on, now coming into sight of the building most of the festivities would be in. The area was relatively empty, except for a few minor Sohmas, and Akio and Eiji, who Minowa recognized even from this distance. Akio's curly black hair and black business suit stood out against the white of the snowy estates, while Eiji wore so much dark blue, it was impossible to mistake him for someone else. 'Dammit, why him?" Minowa thought to himself as he took a slow step back, not wanting to deal with Eiji. The dragon was terrifying, and he hated the cat, for reasons Minowa didn't understand.

Unfortunately for Minowa, it was already to late. Eiji had seen him, was already heading in his direction in a quick march, anger and worse already clear in his face.

"What the hell are you trying to pull you damned monster?"

"Kana." Minowa answered simply. "Though I don't really have to try that hard, she's easy enough to pull along."

Sneering at Minowa's answer, Eiji looked ready to strangle the 17-year-old, but instead just demanded, "Untie her, now."

"And lose what little pull I have in this family now? You should know I'm more selfish than that Eiji. Don't worry though, I don't plan on crushing her, she'll make that happen herself. In fact, she already is, or, do you really think she'll stay so flexible forever."

"I can hear you both!" Kana shouted, quite annoyed at being ignored. "Though I wish I couldn't, you're both giving me a headache with your stupid fighting. If anyone is to be crushed, it will be the both of you! Arrogant jerks."

Minowa only gave Kana another glare, unable to afford being distracted by her, or anything else, now that he was so close to getting what he wanted.

Eiji didn't stop with just a glare though. "Mind your tongue, you know better manners than that, and you had better be grateful. You're the only one who can."

"Go to hell!" Kana shouted in reply, more angry at the tears she felt running down her face. She couldn't be upset anymore. She had to be over her dad's death, her mom's memory being erased. She was happy and free with Hiroto and Yuri, not crying like a baby. She couldn't help it though, Eiji's words always hurt, he always knew exactly what to say. And she didn't even really know why he disliked her. He hadn't even noticed her before he had taken her mom's memories away. She didn't know what had changed, but she was sure he blamed her for something, and it hurt because she was innocent. She was a good girl, doing the right thing, loving the right person and yet, she was still hated by her family.

Her anger boiling inside her, Kana didn't wait for Eiji to recover from his shock. Instead, she bent down and gathered a handful of hard, icy snow and threw it at the dragon with all her might. From no more than ten feet away even with her hands bound together , the ice ball hit Eiji hard in the face, drawing blood where ice shards had cut into him. "I hope that hurt!" she shouted before turning to Minowa and offering her hands to him. "You don't have to tie me up anymore, I'll be happy to go with you now, so let's go."

Not about to look a gift horse, or in this case a gift tiger, in the mouth Minowa dropped the rope tied to Kana's wrists and gestured for her to follow. When she did, he headed back the way he had come, figuring it was best to lay low for a while. He had only come here to get permission for something, but now it seemed he could get a lot more. After all, he had never expected Kana to cooperate as much as she already had, and it seemed like she might cooperate more, given the proper motive. He hadn't dared hope it before, but maybe now, with her willingly at his side, he could exist as something more than a selfish monster with a black past.

**To Be Continued**

Jokess**-  
**  
Same old same old. Next chapter I plan on introducing Tadahiko and Ai more officially. And, after them, most of the main cast will have made appearances. There are a few other characters yet to show up, but they will. Until then, and as always, enjoy the story and feel free to read and review.

And now the list of who is who

**Hiroto Sohma, 6, God  
Kana Sohma, 8, tiger  
Yuri Sohma, 32, rat  
Eiji Sohma, 30, dragon, memory supressor  
Shiro Sohma,?,?  
Akio Sohma, 29, ram  
Hikari Sohma, 21, horse(deceased)  
Tadahiko Sohma,?, rooster  
Ai Sohma,?,?  
Minowa Sohma, 17, cat  
**


	4. Estate of Chaos

**Jokess- **New chapter time. I've planned this chapter for a while, but never got to writing anything. There was just so much that could happen, so much I wanted to do and fix or make more clear. Of course, that is always the case, isn't it? Anyway, for whomever is reading this story, I hope you enjoy it. I know I enjoy writing it am thinking of what to write next. And, as always, read and review.

**Estate of Chaos  
**  
The New Year's festivities on the Sohma Estate's pretty much always meant chaos of some kind. The grounds, both for those who knew and did not know, of the curse, grew busy, crowded and potentially dangerous for any cursed Sohma who wasn't paying enough attention. All in all, the festival could get pretty tense, but now, the tension in the air was nothing compared to, now, with Minowa spiriting away Kana to who knew where, Hiroto throwing a constant tantrum of rage and sadness, Yuri and Eiji both looking fit to kill the next cat they saw, and of course Akio, who didn't even have the decency to E-mail ANYONE a message about his late sister. Surely, he could at least have done THAT much, the enmity between them pushed aside for the sake of the family. But, no, the ram hadn't told anyone, he had forsaken his family for an impossible dream. With so much to worry about, Akio's betrayal being the least of them, Tadahiko wanted to find a hole and pull it in after him, the consequences be damned, He couldn't though, at least not yet, when Ai was depending on him.

"The things I do for love." Tadahiko muttered, not unkindly to the woman beside him, his fiancé and rabbit of the curse, Ai Sohma.

"I love you too Hiko." Ai replied, grinning wickedly as she added. "I'll be glad to show you just how much later tonight."

"And how is that different from any other night, or for that matter, any other holiday my dear?" Tadahiko asked, the same wicked looking grin creeping on his face. "We've always celebrated with one another on nights like this. By now, I don't think it's possible for either of us to show how much we love each other."

"Why, don't you know Hiko? Us cursed Sohma's LIVE on impossible, but you don't have to take my word for it, just come to my place, you'll see for yourself just how possible impossible is." That said, Ai bounded off, quick as the namesake of her curse.

For a few moments, Tadahiko watched Ai disappear, her white hair and dark skin painting an interesting contrast against the snow on the estates.

"Women. Even now, there are times I'm not sure if I should envy you or be afraid for you."

"You're sounding less homicidal Yuri, if that's because Minowa is dying somewhere, please let me know. I've had enough of Sohma's dying in secret for the year."

Hearing what Tadahiko said between the lines, Yuri cursed softly and vehemently, angry at himself just as much as he was angry with Akio. "Ah, so that's why Kana and I didn't sleep that last week of December. Hiroto was so distraught, I well, both Kana and I, knew something was wrong, but we never even thought the reason was Hikari's death. I guess, somehow, we both still thought the horse was always blessed with good health."

"She was healthy, so much so it killed her." Seeing the confusion on Yuri's face, Tadahiko explained. "That's what I told Hiroto. The night she died, he sought me out, a paper cut on his finger. After I put a band-aid on it he made me swear the Hippocratic Oath all over again, and then told me he knew Hikari had just died. He was a mess, an inconsolable, terrified, mess, and he kept asking, shouting really, "Why did my horse die? Horses are always healthy, aren't they?" There was no way he could understand the truth, so I told him that he was right. That, Hikari was very healthy, that she had been too healthy, so much so that parts of her couldn't stop getting bigger, and that in the end she had too much of a good thing."

"Cancer being healthy, now there's logic only a child can understand." Yuri said, with a shake of his head. "That conversation couldn't have been easy, for what it's worth now, thank you for being there for him. If you hadn't been, things would have been a lot worse."

"No thanks necessary, just doing my job, same as you and Kana. Of course, if you're still set on thanking me somehow, I'd like an answer to my question."

His expression turning cold and dark, Yuri shook his head. "I didn't kill him, as much as I felt I wanted to, but he's still missing. The search continues, but it's mostly just Eiji looking under rocks, which he knows won't help, Minowa isn't stupid enough to hide inside these walls anymore, but looking means he doesn't have to stand around in the cold, helping organize the festivities."

"You sure about that? Knowing Eiji, he might be looking for a place to store the body." Tadahiko asked, only half in jest. Eiji's bitter hatred of the cat was a well-known fact among the Sohma's, though most didn't know the reason behind his hatred, including the cat himself.

"I'm sure, I spoke to him just minutes ago, he swore that he hadn't seen Minowa, and wouldn't hurt him if he did. That's not something I can forget, as much as I may want to some days."

Despite Yuri's jovial tone, Tadahiko knew Yuri was anything but happy now. He was the rat, the one person the cat hated more than anything or anyone else. And, now, the cat, Minowa was free to cause trouble for whomever he wanted, and that had to anger Yuri almost as much as it terrified him. He knew, better than almost anyone, just what their monster was capable of when set free, and it scarred him to this day.

"That's good to know, consider your debt paid. Now, since no one can find our stray, I'm guessing we're to go ahead as usual?"

"You got it, there's no rest for the wicked, at least not for Sohma's on New Year's anyway. Especially not for the doctor, I hear someone pounded their finger instead of a nail, that someone strained their back picking something up, someone else dropped something on their foot, and I lost count of the sniffles, coughs, colds and fevers everyone says they have."

"Being the doctor is more fun with Ai." Tadahiko muttered with a sigh. "Where's the one with the strained back?"

"Laying down in the room set aside for hot beverages, snacks and a warm fire, unlike the rest of us who are freezing and working their butts off at the same time."

"I'll make sure to fix that as soon as possible." Tadahiko said with a laugh as he hurried off to the room Yuri had described. The Estates were still crowded and confused, but less so now than they had been an hour ago. Despite the chaos Minowa had caused, and was causing, New Year's looked ready to go ahead as usual. Which would be good news for Ai, who had looked forward to her dance all year. He was anxious to see it too, though he didn't like that she was dancing with Eiji. He didn't really trust the man, he was able to keep too many secrets with his memory suppression. Plus, much like Akio, he lived outside the Sohma Estates and had a way to avoid his family and his responsibilities. Akio had done this by moving to America with his dying sister as his legal ward, Eiji didn't even have to move as far as the next city, not when near anyone could be made to forget any secrets they stumbled across.

**To be continued**

Jokess- As promised, some more introductions are made. Not much action this time, though it should really start rolling next chapter. I plan on focusing on Kana and Minowa starting then. And maybe some of the festivities of the New Year too. See you all then.


End file.
